Frederick Rugby will attend the Mid-Maryland Celtic Festival again this year! Join us for a day or hanging-out, volunteering, and community outreach.

The Mid-Maryland Celtic Festival is a cultural heritage event that provides our community with the unique opportunity to explore the rich culture and tradition that resulted from the movement of many Irish and Scottish immigrants to the United States. The event features pipe bands, celtic music, scottish dancing, historical demonstrations, and Highland Games with professional, amateur, & adaptive athletes competing!

At Saturday's winter banquet the Frederick Rugby Foundation presented it's Pat O'Connell Memorial Perpetual Trophy to Jay Myles, a former FRFC player and current coach of the Mt. St. Mary's rugby team.

The award is named in honor of a previous player, Pat O'Connell, and is considered Frederick Rugby's highest honor: awarded annually to the member of the FRFC who best epitomizes the qualities that Pat brought to Frederick Rugby. Jay Myles is the 16th inductee, and was recognized for his role in the origin of the club, his success as a coach, and contributions to the growth of Rugby.

Steve Strickland, a previous recipient, presented the award, saying:

The 2016 Pat O’Connell Inductee is a Frederick Rugby name repeated often. He always has a smile on his face when he greets you no matter what mood he is in. He has always been family first and foremost. He is a Father that all men should emulate. His two oldest are rugby prodigies that play rugby like their father did “back in the day!” I imagine that the rest of his ginger lineage will follow suit and be “All-American High School and College players like their older sister! He is blessed with a support system that allows him to excel as a coach, husband, son and father! He makes it clear that his wife is the best support group anyone could ask for with their schedules booked all day, 365 days a year! He is the most humble person I know thanks in part to his life history and strong faith.

He has become a well-respected coach within the Chesapeake Conference, Capital Rugby Union and USAR, and most importantly with his college administration, coaching staff and players. He has improved upon his stepfather’s coaching legacy and taken a storied college program to the next level with four trips to the Small College National Final Four, an NSCRO National Championship and D1 conference co-championship. [...]

Today, his efforts have contributed to making the sport of rugby stronger in both youth levels and colleges in the Mid-Atlantic. Many hours of his days lead to bigger and better things all working to grow rugby and he still makes time to give back to the Frederick Rugby Football Club by encouraging skilled Mount rugby players to progress on to our club after college, and his feeder system is making our club better not only on the field but in the Frederick community. He continues to help our club without hesitation and without anyone asking. I am proud to call him my friend, teammate and now fellow Pat O’Connell Award recipient! It is an honor and privilege to present the Award tonight. Congratulations JAY MYLES!

Frederick Rugby held its annual winter awards banquet on 4 February, recognizing player contributions during the Fall 2016 Season.

John 'Mouse' Haney, a team captain, was named MVP in recognition of his leadership and on-field play. Sean Slattery, FRFC club president, presented the award with the following citation:

John Haney has been a part of Frederick Rugby for several years now and has been the captain of the club for the past two. He has become the face of Frederick Rugby throughout the years with his signature hard hits and incredible fitness. Mouse is always a student of the game who is constantly trying to improve different aspects of his play. He continually helps other members of the club with his knowledge but most of all with the example he sets on the field. Anyone who watched a Frederick Men’s match knows that Mouse has a serious impact on every single game that he plays in. The most valuable player is not someone who scores the most tries or tackles the most people. It goes to the player that has the most impact on the team. The most valuable player, while talented, also brings out the best in others and makes other players better around him. I think it was no doubt that Mouse had to win this year.

Other awards were presented throughout the night, most notably the Pat O'Connell Memorial Trophy. A full list of the night's recipients can be found below.

Our spring itinerary is finalized and now posted to the website's schedule page.

Our season begins with the Annual Winter Banquet on 4 February. Dress is formal and dinner will be provided.

As usual we are somewhat dependent on the city to determine when fields will open. The tentative opening day is March 1st, but that is subject to change so please keep an eye out for updates regarding.

Our competitive preseason begins on March 11th as we face off vs Salisbury. This college team has had a lot of success and it would be nice to get some of their graduating players interesting in Frederick.

We'll start our Matrix schedule on March 18th hosting Severn Rugby at our home on Triebel Pitch. The Triebel cup is expected to occur that same day, though details are pending.

The only other Matrix match takes place on March 25th @ Baltimore Chesapeake. After that we have a number of friendlies and hopefully some playoff games.

During the season we will have numerous other events planned. Some of the staples to keep an eye out for include the Celtic Festival and Beer Bacon Music Festival.

Our fall itinerary is finalized and now posted to the website's schedule page.

As summer turns to fall we will hold our annual bash, the Frederick Rugby Pig Roast at Warner Farm. This is the largest annual gathering of rugby players in Frederick County, and most players favorite event.

Our pre-season will kick off with the ever popular and humid Atlantic Cup Tournament. The tournament will have a few changes this year but promises to be as hot and wet as ever. From there we have a few weeks of practice before the competitive season kicks off.

We'll start our Matrix schedule on September 10th by hosting Chambersburg Rugby at our home on Triebel Pitch. That game marks the start of a 4-week streak of Matrix games until a league BYE the weekend of October 8th. If you have friends getting married, tell them to do it October 8th, because every other Saturday this Fall is chocked full of rugby.

More Matrix games will follow on October 15, 22, and 29 until the second BYE on November 5th.

The Matrix season wraps up with a home game vs Delmarva on 12 November. After that we end our playing season with a friendly against long-time adversaries Western Suburbs, where we will play at their pitch on November 19th.

During the season we will have numerous other events planned. Some of the staples to keep an eye out for include our Halloween crawl, and Christmas Crawl.